


Blindly

by ami_ven



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-21
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-26 11:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2649833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ami_ven/pseuds/ami_ven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“How do you know where I am when you can’t see me?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blindly

**Author's Note:**

> written for LJ community "mcsheplets" prompt #189 "blind"

John vanished the moment Carson said that he couldn’t be sure the blindness wasn’t permanent and didn’t appear again until the debriefing, just as Rodney was getting ready to go looking for him.

He was wearing his mirrored sunglasses and only smirked at Rodney’s snap of, “Where the hell have you been?” but he found a seat at the table without bumping into it, and Rodney let it go. For now.

He let Teyla answer most of Woolsey’s questions about the mission, until the part about the Ancient device that had (hopefully only temporarily) blinded John.

“It lit up,” he said. “That was its entire purpose, some kind of Ancient solar powered lamp. It must have been building up a charge, because it went off as soon as Sheppard touched it and burned itself out.”

The sudden burst of light had taken them all by surprise, Teyla and Ronon, who had been searching the field for more devices; Rodney, who had been recalibrating his scanner— and John, who had been looking directly at it.

“Colonel, your team will be grounded, temporarily,” said Woolsey. “Until….”

“I understand,” said John. “I’ll work with Lorne about splitting our upcoming missions with the rest of the teams.”

After they were dismissed, John caught Rodney’s arm as they left the briefing room, steering him easily down the hall even without being able to see. “Hey,” he said, softly, not letting go. “I think I should sleep in my own room tonight.”

“I— ” Usually, they ended up in Rodney’s room, and he could understand that it might be a good idea for John to stay in his neat-and-tidy quarters, instead of Rodney’s messy ones, but the way John said it made it clear he meant to stay there _alone_ , which sounded like a terrible idea. Rodney sighed— even he knew better than to argue, sometimes. “All right. But I’ll see you at breakfast?”

“Yeah,” said John, and leaned in to kiss him, briefly, right there in the hallway, so Rodney tried not to let himself worry.

John seemed better the next morning, drowning his pancakes in that red berry syrup they got from P4X-9915. Teyla was asking John about his plans for the day— a not-so-subtle way to see how John was coping without his sight— and Rodney could see the colonel’s shoulders tensing as she spoke.

“If you can’t go off-world, you only have paperwork, and how can you do paperwork when you can’t see it?” Rodney asked, bluntly, and John snorted what might have been a laugh. “Come to the lab, Sheppard. I’ll have the idiots read you their equations and you can figure out for me why they’re idiots.”

“I’m—” John began, but Rodney interrupted, “You’re good enough to be hired as a mathematician, don’t give me that _I’m just a soldier_ routine.”

“Actually, I’m an airman,” said John, but he was smiling. “Sure, what the hell. Maybe I’ll just be nice to all your scientists and they’ll like me better.”

“They _already_ like you better,” he said, as they bussed their trays, and John bumped Rodney’s shoulder with his own.

Of course, when they got to the lab, there were half a dozen minor emergencies that demanded Rodney’s attention, so he didn’t have much to spare for what John was doing. Instead of sitting in a chair, like any normal person, John had hoisted himself up to sit on Rodney’s workbench. Radek sent people over one-by-one to read their equations and Rodney half-listened as John pointed out minor problems, until the colonel paused at the third scientist, Miko.

“Is there any paper around?” John asked.

“Here, colonel,” said Miko, holding out a legal pad, and John fumbled for it, bumping the back with his knuckles until he found the edge and took it from her.

“Write it in pen,” said Rodney, holding one out. “It’ll show up better for your lousy handwriting.”

“Hey,” John protested, but he took it, fingertips just brushing Rodney’s before sliding up to take the pen.

“How’d you do that?” Rodney demanded.

“Do what? Math? I thought you were a physicist, McKay.”

“Not that,” said Rodney. “The pen.”

John scrawled an equation on the pad, only slightly more illegible than his usual handwriting. “You can still read this, right, Miko?”

“Yes, thank you, colonel,” she said. She touched his knee with the tips of her fingers, since she was too short to reach his shoulder, and he jumped. “I’m sorry, Colonel Sheppard, I’ll just— Thank you.”

She took the paper with the equation and left, and Rodney rose. 

“Come on, let’s go.”

He hooked his hand behind John’s elbow, but the colonel didn’t flinch, just slid off the workbench and let Rodney pull him out of the lab.

“If you’re trying to take me to the infirmary, I’m not going,” John said, stubbornly.

“What? No, we’re not going to the infirmary. We’re just… How did you do that?”

John sighed. “Look, Rodney, you’re the one who’s always saying I shouldn’t let my brain go to waste and the math—”

“Forget the math,” said Rodney. “Well, no, don’t _forget_ it. You shouldn’t let your brain go to waste, John, it’s beautiful. And honestly? Doing higher-level equations in your head while you’re essentially blindfolded— well, we might have to revisit that some—”

“Rodney,” said John, with tolerant affection.

“Right,” said Rodney. “How do you know where I am when you can’t see me?”

John shrugged. “Probably because you never shut up.”

“But Miko was talking when she handed you the pad, and you had trouble finding it.”

“I’m _blind_ , McKay,” John protested, just as Rodney reached out to smack his shoulder with an open palm. “Hey,” said John, hitting him back.

“That, right there!” said Rodney. “How did you know where my shoulder was?”

“I—” John began, then huffed out a laugh. “I always know where you are, Rodney.”

“Kiss me,” Rodney demanded, and John did. He took a half-step forward into Rodney’s personal space, cupping both hands around his face, and pressed their lips together. When they broke for air, Rodney pressed his smile to the skin under John’s ear. “If you think you’re going back to your room tonight, you’re crazier than your hair makes you look.”

John laughed, and held on tight.

THE END


End file.
